Sustainability Research (SRI) PhD Projects

Embedding sustainability into organisational systems through organisational change management

Supervisors: Dr Rodrigo Lozano

Increasingly, organisations (such as universities and companies) and their leaders are recognising that they have responsibilities to the environment and societies where they operate, for the present and the longer-term. In this context, environmental and social concerns and costs have served as catalysts for the development and rapid growth of initiatives, tools and approaches that go beyond legal requirements and compliance. However, there has been limited research on how organisational changes can help make sustainability an integral part of organisations. The key questions to explore include: what should be the role of organisations and how might they, or should they, pursue and contribute to making societies more sustainable? What of sustainability’s long-term perspective, which usually exceeds, and conflicts with organisations’ relatively short-term planning horizon? How can organisations better incorporate and institutionalise sustainability into their values, policies, activities and systems? Candidates are invited for proposals answering these research questions or related areas.

Supporting documents:

If you would like to be considered for research in this area, you will need to provide a full research proposal.  This should be no longer than 6 pages, plus referencing.  You will need to present the proposal in sections to include an introduction, the aims of the project/research questions, full methodology, and referencing.  Referencing should be done in the style of a journal related to this research area.

Funding:

You will need to demonstrate that you have/are being considered for 3 years of funding to include tuition fees and living costs.  Additionally, a bench fee may be charged, to cover exceptional consumables/fieldwork costs needed for successful completion of the project.  Please see the FAQs in the right-hand menu for costs.

Entry requirements/necessary background:

A Masters degree on sustainability and business. Masters under sustainability, management, human resources, or organizational behavior as stand-alone disciplines might  also be considered.